Scripture Resources

Nyoongar Christians have initiated a translation of the Gospel of Luke to aid in their language’s resurgence and this was completed & published in 2014 (pictured below). This is a dramatic milestone in the history of printed Nyoongar texts, both sacred and secular. The Nyoongar Gospel is set in parallel with the English, a glossary of Nyoongar words runs beneath the text and there are ten pages devoted to the grammar and syntax of the Nyoongar language, thus aiding in the language’s preservation. The audio production of Luke was completed in 2017 and an android app in 2018.

General Language Information:

There are 4,000 Nyoongar people (including 14 clans and 5 dialects) living in an area covering the whole southwest corner of Western Australia, from Esperance in the south to Geraldton in the north.

Having been dominated since European invasion by racist government policies, in which children were taken away to missions and forbidden from speaking or learning their language, the Nyoongar people have struggled to preserve their culture.

FATSIC (Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Is-lander Languages) has identified the Nyoongar language ‘at risk’ of becoming extinct. As a result various projects (including translation of traditional stories and teaching resources) have been developed in recent times to encourage a resurgence of the language.

Nyoongar Christians have initiated a translation of the Gospel of Luke to aid in their language’s resurgence and this was completed & published in 2014 (pictured below). This is a dramatic milestone in the history of printed Nyoongar texts, both sacred and secular. The Nyoongar Gospel is set in parallel with the English, a glossary of Nyoongar words runs beneath the text and there are ten pages devoted to the grammar and syntax of the Nyoongar language, thus aiding in the language’s preservation.